Summer 2013 - The American Viola Society

FROM THE EDITOR
The AVS board has been actively
involved in a multi-year Strategic
Planning process. If you have not
yet read the recent report on the
status of this process, I hope you
will take the opportunity to do so
here. The board is aware that
many of the AVS’s long-time
projects have enjoyed great
success, including the JAVS, the
Primrose International Viola
Competition, and American viola
congresses. But for organizations
to remain relevant, they must
evolve to meet the needs of a
changing world. We have
implemented several projects in
recent years, including a new
Orchestral Excerpts Competition
and Studio Blog just within the
past year alone.
All of the AVS’s projects are
made possible through the
generous efforts of many individuals
who are committed to
promoting the viola. We
welcome—and need—the
involvement of members in our
many projects, and over the next
few months we will provide
additional details about how you
can become involved in shaping
the future of the organization.
Please stay tuned for e-mails
seeking your input. Of course,
you can always contact our
national office at any time with
suggestions or concerns at:
info@avsnationaloffice.org; we
would love to hear from you.
A great way to get involved in the
AVS is by serving as an advocate
to your friends and colleagues.
Tell your friends about the many
benefits of membership, or even
give them a gift membership.
While several of our projects are
freely available to the entire
world, including an active Facebook
group, free scores, and the
Studio Blog, none of the AVS’s
projects could exist without the
support of our members. And we
will soon be providing even more
resources and benefits exclusively
for AVS members with the
implementation of a new
members-only area in the near
future.
Speaking of long-time projects,
please join us in Las Vegas for
the Primrose Festival, from
January 16–18, 2014, held in
conjunction with the thirty-fifthanniversary
Primrose International
Viola Competition. Recitals,
master classes, lectures, wellness
sessions, and more will be offered
as well as opportunities to shop
with vendors for the latest and
greatest viola merchandise.
Reasonably priced hotel rooms
are available at the Golden
Nugget with activities at the
Historic Fifth Street School.
Look for more details soon at:
http://americanviolasociety.org/co
mpetitions/primrose/. I hope to
see you there!
One of the viola world’s other big
competitions, the Tertis Competition,
took place this past March,
and you can read all about it in
Louise Lansdown’s article in this
issue of the JAVS. We are also
introducing a new department,
Construction and Design, which
will examine different aspects of
lutherie. For the inaugural article,
Bryan Lew looks at two of
William Primrose’s twentiethcentury
violas that are now
housed at PIVA. Be sure to also
read elsewhere in this issue about
a major acquisition at PIVA—a
portrait of William Primrose—
that was recently unveiled.
Two of our feature articles look at
the viola in diverse combinations.
Nicolai Pfeffer shares his
experience in creating a new
edition of Bruch’s Double
Concerto for Viola and Clarinet,
and Jorge Barrón introduces
Manuel Ponce’s Trio for Violin,
Viola, and Cello.
Lastly, we have articles on two
multitalented musicians: Ljova
muses on three hectic weeks this
past spring in our Eclectic Violist
department, and Tom Tatton
interviews Tom Hall in our With
Viola in Hand department.
Cordially,
David M. Bynog
JAVS Editor
VOLUME 29 SUMMER 2013 ONLINE ISSUE
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